News that the province is shutting down wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases has left Simcoe-Muskoka\u2019s associate medical officer of health \u201cdisappointed.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is really unfortunate because I think the rest of the world is certainly embracing this (science), so I\u2019m not quite sure why they\u2019re not continuing this very important infectious disease surveillance tool let alone for COVID, but also for influenza and other infections,\u201d said Dr. Colin Lee from the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.<\/p>\n
The Ontario wastewater surveillance network that began in 2020 as a way to track COVID-19 in wastewater includes 59 sampling sites across Ontario, covering about 60 per cent of the province\u2019s population. <\/p>\n
In Simcoe County, there are sampling sites including Barrie, Orillia, Midland and Collingwood. Samples are taken at least weekly, sometimes more often.<\/p>\n
\u201cSurveillance is one of the cornerstones of how we track diseases,\u201d said Lee, noting there\u2019s little other surveillance of COVID-19\u2019s spread now since there isn\u2019t much testing going on anymore. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe used to track every single case, we don\u2019t do that anymore,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
Samples were sent to Ontario universities for lab testing and the system tracked not only COVID-19 in wastewater, but also influenza, H5N1, MPox and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).<\/p>\n
Public health units could upload and access information on a provincewide dashboard, and could see the disease signals in wastewater up to two weeks before cases would show up in the population. <\/p>\n
\u201c(It) is extremely useful because it\u2019s easy to do, it allows us to predict infectious disease activity, as opposed to understanding it after the fact,\u201d said Lee, noting public health was able to communicate to local health-care providers what to expect over the next week or more. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a dream tool, really \u2026 When (a dream) is shattered, it\u2019s quite disappointing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Ontario government announced it will no longer fund the program, which will end July 31. A federal program exists, but with only four sample sites in Ontario and all of them in Toronto, it\u2019s a drop in the bucket compared to the provincial program. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf we only have four sites in Ontario \u2026 that\u2019s going to be quite a bit more difficult to understand the utility of the tool and how the nuances of the changes in the levels reflect the disease activity,\u201d said Lee. <\/p>\n
The Public Health Agency of Canada, which operates the federal wastewater surveillance program has said there is work underway to expand the testing sites in Ontario, but it\u2019s unclear to what extent and when the expansion will take place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
News that the province is shutting down wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases has left Simcoe-Muskoka\u2019s associate medical officer of health \u201cdisappointed.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is really unfortunate because I think the rest of the world is certainly embracing this (science), so I\u2019m not quite sure why they\u2019re not continuing this very important infectious disease surveillance tool let alone for COVID, but also for influenza and other infections,\u201d said Dr. Colin Lee from the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.<\/p>\n
The Ontario wastewater surveillance network that began in 2020 as a way to track COVID-19 in wastewater includes 59 sampling sites across Ontario, covering about 60 per cent of the province\u2019s population. <\/p>\n